


"A" Who?

by liberallesbian37



Series: Project Team Beta's 2013 Writing Challenge [14]
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2013-04-22
Packaged: 2017-12-09 03:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/769674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberallesbian37/pseuds/liberallesbian37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The girls try to figure out who Red Coat is and if Alison is back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"A" Who?

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge Number/Title: 14/Filled with Hyperbole   
> Date Posted: 4/21/13  
> Fandom: Pretty Little Liars  
> Rating: K+  
> Genre: Friendship  
> Content Descriptors: Friendship  
> Character Pairing: None

                Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily were all sitting in a circle in Spencer’s barn. Strewn around the room was junk food and fashion magazines, but the girls hadn’t touched any of it. It was all for show. What they were really looking at were the **million –A messages** they’d received over the years.

                “It’s going to **take forever** to get through all of these,” Hanna groaned. Spencer rolled her eyes at her friend and continued going through the text messages.

                “Can we agree that the ‘show me your boobs’ text was fake?” Spencer asked, holding up her phone. Hanna stifled a laugh.

                “Did you check with Toby to make sure that he didn’t send it?” Aria asked, ignoring Spencer’s wince. Even though Toby joined the A team to protect Spencer, it was a sore spot for all four girls. Spencer hadn’t been able to sleep **for months after** every that had happened.

                “Yes, I did. We already went over everything he did,” Spencer said coolly. She didn’t like thinking about the things her boyfriend had done during his time on the A team.

                “Then I think we can assume that was a joke. Or an attempt at a joke, anyway,” Emily said, thumbing through old notes.

                “Okay, here’s one from an unknown A. ‘Mona played with dolls, I play with body parts. Game on, bitches,’” Aria read. She remembered it was one of the first real messages they’d received after Mona went to Radley.

                “What about things A did? I mean, who locked Spencer in her shower?” Emily asked. She noticed Spencer shiver, and put her arm around her. Spencer laid her head on her friend’s shoulder and snuggled into the embrace.

                “The same person who started the fire, maybe,” Hanna suggested.

                “So we’ve got someone trying to kill us, someone trying to hurt us, someone trying to keep us safe while pretending to hurt us, and someone who’s trying to save us?” Aria asked. Spencer nodded slowly.

                “Spence, was Toby the one who texted Aria when you were locked in the shower?” Emily asked. She made a mental note to thank him the next time she saw him.

                “No. He had no idea that even happened until I told him. Believe me, he freaked. I’m pretty sure **he could have killed** the person who did it if he’d known who it was.” She didn’t mention how he still woke up in the middle of the night, close to tears. She didn’t mention how they still took turns holding each other to chase away the nightmares that they both had nearly ever night.

                “Was the person who sent me the text the same person who pulled us out of the fire?” Aria asked.

                “Let’s cut the bull. I don’t know who sent Aria the text, but Alison was the one who pulled us out of the fire,” Hanna said. The girls were silent for a moment, all lost in memories of that night.

                “Han, we don’t know that,” Emily said quietly. She wasn’t ready to believe that Alison was alive. After learning about the things Ali had done to Paige, Emily didn’t think she could ever forgive her. That wasn’t a problem if Alison was dead, but if she was alive… Emily had never had any willpower when it came to the blonde.

                “I saw her, Emily. Trust me. I would **recognize her a billion miles away. In the dark** ,” Hanna retorted.

                “Guys! Now is not the time to fight over this!” Spencer yelled, seeing Emily open her mouth. Emily closed her mouth and Hanna gave her an apologetic look.

                “I’m sorry, Em, but I know what I saw. What we all saw. I know she was there; I’m just not sure how I feel about the idea of her being alive. We all loved her, but did she ever love us? I don’t want to go back to being the person I was when she was alive,” Hanna explained.

                Aria nodded in agreement. “She made me feel so loved one day, and then the next… She made me feel like the **worst person in the world.”**

                “I know,” Emily whispered. She squeezed Aria’s hand, communicating her support.

                “I don’t want to go back either, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore this. The police found her body. It’s currently buried in the mausoleum. Everything says she should be dead…but I know what I saw, too,” Spencer said.

                “Yeah, but the body they found was pretty decomposed. It could have been misidentified,” Hanna suggested. Spencer shook her head.

                “They had DNA evidence.”

                “So? They also had DNA evidence that Toby killed Ali, that you killed Ali, and that Ian killed a bunch of rats,” Hanna argued. Spencer didn’t say anything.

                “Okay, so let’s say that someone did manage to somehow swap DNA evidence. If Ali was alive, why would she stay hidden for so long?”Aria asked.

                “Maybe she’s afraid,” Emily said softly. “Someone was sending her A messages and it wasn’t Mona.”

                “She says it wasn’t her, but I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her,” Hanna said.

                “It’s our only choice. I saw her face during the fire. She wanted to know who Red Coat was as much as we did. Even if she isn’t being completely honest…That part wasn’t a lie,” Aria said, shrugging. Emily nodded.

                “Look, we’re not going to figure this out tonight. We might as well try to get some sleep. Do you guys want to spend the night? We can go inside if you’d prefer,” Spencer suggested. Emily shrugged.

                “I don’t care where we go. I don’t feel much safer inside than I do out here.”

                The other girls nodded in agreement. Truth be told, Spencer only really felt safe when she was with Toby or the girls.

                The barn was still furnished from Melissa’s time there, so it had a locking front door and a working bathroom. Hanna sent her mom a quick text that she and Emily were staying at Spencer’s before settling in on the king sized bed Melissa had left.

                “I really love you guys,” Aria said, snuggling next to Spencer.

                “We’ll figure all of this out,” Emily promised.

                “Yeah. We’re like superheroes. **We can do anything.”**

                They all laughed at Hanna’s words. Spencer flipped off the light. There might still have a mystery A trying to kill them, but they would always have each other.


End file.
